pretty little secret
by kelly.rockwell
Summary: "In public they were friends, maybe, Cora wasn't sure. But in private, Cora knew exactly what they were to each other." (Hint: it's friends with benefits.)


They happened kind of easily, actually. Cora would never say that she and Lydia were alike, but they did both seem to have a certain level-headed drive when it came to having their needs met, and that worked in their favor.

And it was strange, maybe, but then again not. Because Lydia was beautiful, intelligent, and soft. And she smelled nice, like vanilla and wildflowers and Cora never asked her the name of whatever fragrance she was wearing, because she didn't really need to know. She was content in believing that it was just Lydia.

It started one day after particularly long bout of researching at the loft. Cora had thrown herself onto the floor and started doing push-ups, because she was all kinds of frustrated and she knew that when she got like that, anything physical would take the edge off.

She felt eyes on her, but there were any number of others in the room, and for all she knew it was just Isaac checking her out again. He did that a lot, in spite of the warning glances Derek sent his way. Cora didn't allow herself to think that maybe it was Lydia watching her; couldn't really have coped with the way that would've hit her.

When Stiles sighed exasperatedly and announced that they'd be requiring another trip to the library, Cora jumped up from the floor and volunteered to go. She needed to get out for awhile, away from the stifling atmosphere of everyone hunched over books and bickering over what was relevant information.

Everyone seemed fine with that, and Cora took a paper with call numbers from Stiles and headed for the door.

"Wait," came Lydia's voice as she reached for the door handle. "I should go, too. We might not just be able to check out all of those texts. I should be there in case anything needs to be translated in a pinch."

Cora turned around then, and Lydia's eyes were intently fixed on her. She didn't look logical, though. She looked desperate. And Cora understood that look well. So she held back the biting comment about how she was fully capable of snapping photos with her phone and she nodded. "Fine with me. The less I have to touch these crusty old books, the better."

Lydia drove them, and while Cora had expected it to be a relief, it was actually more like slow torture. Everything about Lydia was only intensified by the closer proximity and the enclosed space. Lydia's scent was pervasive, and it wasn't just perfume this time. It was hot, musky and sweet and entirely Lydia, and Cora stared out the window as she willed herself to ignore it.

By the time they got to the library, Cora was eager to put some distance between herself and the redhead. Her fingers were crossed that they'd be able to split up, that a little time inhaling the scent of old books would do something to erase the one that was currently clouding her senses and making an absolute mess of her.

Luck wasn't on her side, though, unsurprisingly. They ended up in a small room, carefully flipping the pages of what had to be some of the most ancient-looking books Cora had ever seen, and Lydia had been right about them not being able to take them out. So they sat at the small table, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder and it was hard to focus on anything other than how intensely frustrated she was, but she tried her level best.

Until she felt eyes on her again. And this time, there was no question of who was watching. Cora tilted her head to look at Lydia and found that she was regarding her with lips parted, one brow softly arched like she was about to say something devastating. And then she did.

"You know, I really didn't need you here for this," Lydia said, but it didn't sound like a dismissal. It sounded more like an invitation.

Cora shrugged. "I'm here for moral support. And to protect you from all of the scary things that might try to devour you."

"Are you?" Lydia asked softly, leaning in a little more. She curled her fingers around Cora's forearm. "Because you seem more like the thing that wants to devour me."

And that was it. That was all it took. Cora closed the distance between them, connected their lips and Lydia purred delightedly into the kiss. Her hands tangled in Lydia's hair, soft strands of strawberry blonde woven between her fingers. Lydia's lips were full and luscious and her tongue did wicked things, and Cora kissed her until they were both breathless, and then some more.

They found themselves eventually crowded against each other in a darkened corner, Lydia pinned to the wall with one of Cora's thighs between hers, rutting and panting and clinging to each other desperately.

After that, it became a normal occurrence. Sort of an unspoken arrangement. In public they were friends, maybe, Cora wasn't sure. But in private, Cora knew exactly what they were to each other.

It went on like that for weeks, the two of them finding each other when they needed to. Lydia texting Cora to meet her between classes, pulling her into an empty classroom and kissing her hard up against the door. Sitting on the teacher's desk, guiding Cora's head between her thighs. Or in the backseat of Lydia's car, half naked and shuddering with Lydia's fingers setting a frantic pace in and out of Cora's wet heat.

They didn't define it. They seemed to both understand what it was, and if their definitions differed it didn't really matter. They both got what they wanted. And for Cora, the thrill of sneaking around was almost as delicious as the taste of Lydia fresh on her tongue. It would've gone on like that indefinitely, probably, if Derek hadn't walked in and caught them.

Cora froze halfway through unbuttoning Lydia's blouse, staring unblinkingly at her brother from where she was straddling Lydia on the couch. Lydia craned her neck to see what Cora was looking at and made a soft little noise in the back of her throat that sounded a lot like amusement.

Derek looked like an idiot, standing there with his lips parted and his eyes wide. His eyebrows had crept up into his hairline, and Cora stared back at him unblinkingly.

It was the soft rumble of Lydia giggling underneath of her that brought her out of it, and she broke her gaze with Derek and looked down at the girl. "Shut up," she said, smiling in spite of herself.

Cora looked back up and Derek hadn't moved so much as an eyebrow, and Cora rolled her eyes. "Look, this isn't a big deal. You don't need to have a big freakout," she said, but her cheeks were burning hot and she looked down pleadingly at Lydia for help.

"She's not wrong," Lydia said, shrugging nonchalantly. "We're just two friends helping each other out. It's very progressive, you should try it."

Derek looked between the two of them and heaved a sigh, turned back to the door and muttered under his breath about owing Stiles twenty bucks.

Cora brought her lips to Lydia's smile as soon as the door clicked shut behind him.


End file.
